To mark the 10th anniversary of the PlayStation 2 in North America (falling in line with Grand Theft Auto III's 9th Anniversary, Vice City's 8th Anniversary and San Andreas' 6th Anniversary), Sony went on and asked a few famous Game Developers out there what their All Time Favorite Top Three games were on the console. As you'd expect, Grand Theft Auto gets a good few mentions and here's what they had to say:

Stig AsmussenGame Director, Santa Monica Studios

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – GTAIII was amazing. And with Vice City, they added a ton of new toys to boot – the game was huge! The missions made big leaps in diversity and they integrated seamlessly into the story in a way that we hadn’t seen yet. And you gotta love the 80′s flair.

Grand Theft Auto III – I have to admit that I didn’t ever come close to finishing it because I simply don’t have the time. But from what I played, it was clear that something revolutionary and NEW was being invented here.

Chet FaliszekWriter, Valve SoftwareCurrent Project: Portal 2

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - This is my favorite of the series, if for no other reason than driving around town with my gang in a bus grabbing territory.

Grand Theft Auto III – I’ve gone on record – somewhat foolishly, I admit – as being annoyed with the GTA games. But I’ve always tried to be clear that while the CONTENT makes me feel this way, I’m in awe of the DESIGN thinking behind GTA. And I’ll be damned if the level of execution doesn’t match the conceptual brilliance. I’m a huge believer in the idea that games should be vehicles (pardon the pun) for player expression. The groundbreaking, open world, freeform, sandbox gameplay of GTA (with a story thrown in for good measure) takes that idea – that games are about the PLAYER’S creativity as much as, or more than the designer’s creativity – to ridiculous heights. I still don’t quite get how Rockstar pulled this off on a PS2!

So, any surprises on that list? Who do you agree with the most? What is your Top Three Games from the PS2 era and why?